An 18-storey tower block earmarked for the mouth of the Ouseburn has been labelled a “monstrosity”, as opposition grows against the massive scheme.
Developers have put forward plans for a major apartment complex to be built on Malmo Quay, but there are fears that it would damage some of Newcastle’s most iconic scenery if given the green light by council chiefs.
The team at the Free Trade Inn fear the development would ruin the pub’s beloved view and have now issued a plea for locals to object to the proposal, which they claim would “dominate the Quayside, Ouseburn and East End”.
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Fred Plater, owner of the Tyne Bar, has also slammed the scheme and compared it to some of Tyneside’s most infamous Brutalist buildings, including the former Trinity Square car park featured in Get Carter.
He said: “It’s ugly and it is always going to be ugly.
“It will become a monstrosity. This is going to be the new Get Carter car park or the new Commercial Union building.
“I would like to see us marching up and down the Quayside opposing this.
“We have had the Free Trade as neighbours for 28 years and we are good neighbours, we have the same goals. To see them lose that view, or to at least have it blighted, would be heartbreaking.”
Louise Richley, management company director of the St Ann's Quay housing block on the Quayside, also called the tower “entirely inappropriate” and “an eyesore”.
As well as the 223ft complex, which would be one of the tallest buildings in the city, developer PfP-igloo’s proposals feature another 13 townhouses and two duplex apartments on the disused Malmo Quay land, plus up to 73 homes in a set of buildings up to eight storeys tall on neighbouring Spillers Quay.
If approved by Newcastle City Council, the scheme would also see the existing Cycle Hub demolished and relocated to a new site on Malmo, while there are also plans for new public cycleways, footpaths, and riverside seating.
The Free Trade Inn issued a call to action over the weekend, urging people to lodge objections against the plans on the council website.
In a blog post, the pub’s management described the tower as “totally out of keeping with the surrounding area” and said there was “very little merit in a beige 18 story tower block in such a prominent position”.
Pub boss Mick Potts told ChronicleLive that he had "not heard one positive comment" about the plans and "the overriding feeling we have seen is sheer disbelief that anyone could think it is appropriate".
PfP-igloo has argued that such a big tower is needed to make the project financially viable and called it a “distinctive landmark”
Alec Hamlin, a development manager at Igloo, said: “We have the greatest respect and appreciation for this beautiful part of the city and that is why we have assembled a world-class team, including internationally renowned architects, to help shape plans that we genuinely believe respond to the site context, creating a distinctive landmark where the Ouseburn and Tyne meet. Our proposals provide high-quality homes and extensive public realm improvements on a city centre, brownfield site that has lain vacant and under-utilised for decades.
“We do, of course, appreciate that building design is subjective and we have taken on board the views of residents and businesses in the area to fine-tune our proposals. The result is a tall, slender tower, that is set back far enough from the quayside so as not to obstruct views to the iconic vista of the Millennium Bridge and Gateshead Quays, but close enough to the river’s edge to waymark the Ouseburn for those looking downriver.”
Chris Barnard, chief officer of the Ouseburn Trust, said he felt that the Free Trade’s famous view up the Quayside “is still there” – but raised concerns that the tower design is not exceptional enough to justify its size.
He added: “We are not averse to a bit of height in principle, but Igloo have described the site as world class.
“If you look at the portfolio of the architects [White Arkitekter] and their work in Scandinavia, they do look world class. I would like to see something world class on there, but I don’t know what that looks like.
“Mick Potts described it as a bit beige and it is, isn’t it?”
Mr Barnard added that, while the focus of an online backlash against the scheme has been focused on the tower, the trust was worried about the scale of development on Spillers Quay and the loss of the existing Cycle Hub building.
